Avery, Cuban clash on contract

[ShoogarBear]

Cuban is pissed cause people think Avery coached the Mavs this year, not him.

[LEONARD]

Cuban is pissed cause people think Avery coached the Mavs this year, not him.

You're spot on...

[LB7]

Johnson: No problems with contract

05:21 PM CDT on Monday, July 24, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News



Avery Johnson said today that he and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have never been on better terms and that if there ever was a point when the coach’s contract was a problem, those days are past.

He added that if his original contract has been amended -- and he sounded like a man who is at peace with his paycheck -- people may never know for sure.

“Right now, I have a contract,’’ said Johnson, 41, who will earn about $2.5 million next season. “And if there is a time that Mark wants to revisit it, we will. But nobody else is going to know. It’s really nobody else’s [business]. Nobody needs to know anything about it right now. Mark’s not going to put me in a position where I can’t do the best job. He’s just not going to do it. He’s too smart for that.

“But everything we do around here, we do it on our own timing. And whatever we’re doing, we’re headed in the right direction.’’

Cuban said he has no issues with his coach.

“There’s no story there,” Cuban told The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Monday afternoon. “Avery and I are great. I was in Avery’s office. We can talk about everything. My goal is to put him in a position to succeed and vice versa.”

In his first full season as a head coach, Johnson led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. That success ensured that his original contract would be guaranteed for four seasons at a total of about $12 million.

Johnson has been mum the last month while speculation swirled that he was negotiating for a new or amended contract.

He gave no clues -- other than positive vibes -- Monday about where the contract situation stands. But it’s clear that he is happy with the situation.

“If I was in a situation contractually that needed to be addressed, wouldn’t you think Mark would address it because of how close our relationship is?’’ Johnson said. “We need to give him more credit. It’s been reported that he didn’t address my contract? How do you know that? Let’s give Mark more credit than that.

“In my situation, if you had the type of contract I had and it needed to be addressed … as creative as he is, why, after what happened in the last situation, would he want to ever have any tension, even if I was wrong? Even if I was wrong about something, hypothetically, why would he want to have any tension with a coach that is as loyal as they come? So give him some credit. That’s my point.’’

Johnson’s predecessor, Don Nelson, had a difficult relationship with Cuban at the end of his coaching tenure. When Nelson led the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in 2003, his contract was expiring. It took protracted negotiations for him to get a three-year extension at basically the same money he was making.

There is no such frostiness between Johnson and Cuban, who met for more than an hour in Johnson’s office Monday, the day before the coach is to leave on a lengthy trip to Africa.

“All is good in Mavs-land,’’ Johnson said.

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